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Federal Government shutdown will not affect state parks

Kentucky State Parks, Other State Tourism Attractions Open

School system, other local offices also not affected by shutdown, yet...

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky State Parks and other state-funded tourism agencies are open and operating under normal business hours. They are not affected by the federal government shutdown.

State parks, the Salato Wildlife Education Center in Frankfort, the Frankfort Convention Center, the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, the Kentucky Horse Park, the Kentucky Historical Society, state welcome centers, the Kentucky International Convention Center and the Kentucky Exposition Center are all open.

If you have travel plans and are unsure about the status of your destination, please check in advance.

Information about Kentucky State Parks is available at www.parks.ky.gov Information about other tourism sites and attractions is available at www.kentuckytourism.com

Lawrence County School Supt. Mike Armstrong said today that he has no knowledge of any affect the shut down of the federal government will have on schools since most of the funding and official paper work for programs like Head Start are OK for the immediate future.

Politics K-12 reported today that a short term shut down would not be much of a problem for local school districts...but.

'...A short-term shutdown really isn't so bad, for most districts. In fact, if the shutdown doesn't last very long, most may not notice a huge difference, said Noelle Ellerson, the associate executive director for policy and advocacy at the American Association of School Administrators.

"With a short term shutdown, the impact won't be any more discernible to school districts than the current dysfunction attributable to sequestration and the lack of ESEA reauthorization," she said.

A longer-term shutdown is a different animal. "A protracted delay in Department obligations and payments beyond one week would severly curtail the cash flow to school districts, colleges and universities, and vocational rehabilitation agencies that depend on the Department to support their services," department officials wrote in their shutdown plan...'